Absence of an ill wind blows some good
Global warming's failure so far to produce a repeat of last year's serial hurricane assault and battery of the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico is the swing factor in the suddenly soft price of oil. A year ago today, New Orleans was inundated by floodwater, and oil refineries on the Gulf coast and rigs and platforms offshore were shut and damaged after the assault of hurricane Katrina, one of a record 15 hurricanes and 28 named storms that year in the Atlantic Basin. There were four highest-level category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin in 2005 - Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma - and Wilma, Rita and Katrina were the most intense and third and fourth most intense ever.

An American view: Looking for a miracle
"As an American who has deeply loved my country and hardly recognizes it any more, I have always striven in these columns to try to give my Canadian audience a good idea of the motivations behind why Americans do the things they do, think the way they think and talk the way they talk. I feel that at times I have pulled my punches. Even so, I have been accused of spreading hate. It even happened during my meeting with some Canadian acquaintances in a fish and chips shack in Victoria this summer. I was explaining why so many Americans buy into the myths of American history and culture (the “Cult of America” that I talk about from time to time) and how seemingly innocent beliefs can have widespread and very bloody repercussions down the line."